I can’t get an interview

Struggling to get an interview?

Many job hunters become frustrated after applying for large numbers of job advertisements, only never to receive an interview.

As a careers advisor, I would always check how the job hunter had applied for these vacancies.

As an example you may in the main, be applying for jobs using your CV, if your CV does not gain you interviews it will either be because:

• Your CV is not targeted to the industry you are applying for
• The CV you use is more then 2 pages, so the employer is not reading the whole of your CV
• You have not sent a Cover Letter with your CV; in some cases, employers see this as essential, while other employers don’t.

If you’re unsure how good your CV is, have your CV reviewed for free.

If you have a good 2 page targeted CV, with the text split up by headings and bullet points and you always send an individual tailored covering letter. Basically, your CV is great and sell’s your strengths to the fullest.

If this is the case you may need to re-look at the job positions you are applying for, as some job hunters apply for jobs out of their ability.

• Are you applying for job you feel has a large salary, compared to your ability to fulfill the role?
• Do the job roles you apply for ask for skills and experiences you do not have?

It is always good to aim high and follow your dream, as I always believe everyone can achieve their goal-sometimes you first need to overcome a couple of small barriers.

If you don’t have a career goal, you can use a career coach to help you move forward.

If your job goal is set high, you need to ask yourself if you first need to apply for a vacancy a level below your career goal? And use this as a stepping stone towards your dream career.

How to check if you are applying for job at the right level.

Pick 4-5 job adverts you have applied for and highlight with a highlighter the common skills, experiences and qualifications needed for all the job adverts. you now need to be honest with yourself, you may already know you would be a dedicated worker but if the advert is asking for a certain qualification or a certain number of years experience as an essential requirement – do you have what the employers are asking for? Be honest, as we want to increase the amount of interview you receive.

If the answer is yes, you do have the essential requirements, then you need to re-look at your CV or application forms review them.

If you answered no:

You can apply for any job and hope that your other strengths will out way the criteria you do not have, but if you have already applied for a large number of similar vacancies with a good CV or application form and you do not make it through to the interview round, if you want a different result, do something different, you may now need to re-look at the positions or salary you are applying for (the higher the salary the more strict the employer will be when it comes to flexibility around the essential criteria)

Still apply for jobs in the same industry, jobs that suit your skills and abilities and use this experience to make you more employable for future industry job roles on a higher scale.